BENGALURU: With summer upon us, the demand for power has shot up, with peak demand exceeding 18,000MW in the past two months. In February 2025, peak demand reached 18,350MW, and on March 7, it touched 18,395MW.
Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) Managing Director Pankaj Kumar Pandey said the upward trend is expected to continue, and touch 18,500MW in April. He told the media on Monday that there has been a 15 per cent spike in power demand from the agricultural sector, with farmers going in for additional cropping due to heavy rainfall.
He added that maximum demand in 2020-21 was 14,367MW, 14,818MW in 2021-22, 15,828MW in 2022-23, and 17,220MW in 2023-24. Calculations show the estimated demand in April would be around 18,294MW, up from 16,985MW last April. Similarly, demand will rise to 17,122MW in May, compared to 16,826MW last May.
Pandey said adequate measures have been taken to meet demand, like entering into agreements with Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to procuring power under power exchange agreements ranging from 100-1400MW.
“Additionally, from March 1-15, an extra 310MW of power was procured from NTPC, and from March 15, 100MW has been acquired. Under the fuel security policy, PSCKL has agreed to receive 1,000MW of electricity per month from other states till May end,” Additional Chief Secretary, energy department, Gaurav Gupta said.